a shelter and a warning

Deimos

The Stonesong had changed.

It didn’t come as much of a surprise, considering the way everywhere else had reshaped to certain facets. Halo’s mountains had broken apart and away from the Draig. The Hollowed Grounds had become portions of isles. The more and more he branched out from his beloved region of ice and snow, the more alterations and nostalgia seemed to creep along his spine.

So he didn’t frown at the way the river had expanded and warped, but traversed far more carefully, foraging for several herbs to take back to the greenhouse. Zuriel stepped lightly, right behind his long strides as they swept over familiar paths, and then not, all at once. More than once they ceased movement together, as he snagged at some peppermint bark, sweetgrass, or snow moss, and he would place them within her saddlebags.

It would’ve been a serene journey, had Belial not been on a tear.

The peryton began to glide ahead, as he often did, and the Sword watched as the carnivorous deer dipped low along the embankment. A sigh was only uttered from his lungs moments later, when he could hear a proud and victorious screech from his companion, and then several unfamiliar chatters in response. “What did he find now?” came on a distinct mutter towards the unicorn, who snorted in her own unimpressed manner, as they advanced towards the shoreline.

what does it mean to look upon a ruin
we are boneless. we are boiling hot blood.

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

He's found glotters - Dantalion can tell him that much. But he's also found a bedraggled Ancient sitting in the mud against the riverbank, leaning back on his elbows and surveying the frolicking, chittering creatures with a mix of irritation and what one would swear is hunger. They're probably after his very shiny, very diamond horns, but having never seen them in his life, Danta doesn't know that.

One might wonder why he doesn't just get up and walk away - or go hunting them himself, if he's so inclined - and the answer to that question lays clamped around the Ancient's left leg.

Apparently at Longnight, an owlbear (a fucking what) had been seen galumphing through the Greatwood. And so the Fae, worrying that it might have friends or family, have set some big, nasty beartraps along the banks of the Stone Symphony, as well as within the forest itself.

If there was a sign to say they'd done it, though, Danta didn't fucking see it. He didn't see the trap either, funnily enough.

So with the teeth of the contraption bone-deep in his leg and a tide of crimson washing through the mud down into the river, it's little wonder that he isn't so keen to get up and run off.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

At first, the glotters were the only thing that held Belial’s attention. He could swoop and dive above them, watch them do the same below, and hoot, holler, away in wild, chaotic amusement. But then there was someone else, just laying there (clearly trapped), and then he thought he might hover out of reach of the stranger’s arms too, circling above, as a vulture might.

Only at that juncture did Deimos and Zuriel come to understand the full picture, peering down from the bank. Another long sigh threatened to unravel through his lungs and ribcage the moment he saw the peryton annoying someone else – though he paused momentarily in scrutiny and inspection. The horns signaled Ancient, but this was neither Kiada nor Edmund, and the almost listless pose combined with the trap snagged around his leg left a bizarre combination. Glancing sideways at Zuriel, perhaps a warning, he called from their vantage point with his residual, deep rumble. “Do you need help?” Presumptions would’ve been a resounding yes, but he'd also met some peculiar people in this world.

what does it mean to look upon a ruin
we are boneless. we are boiling hot blood.

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

With a gore crow shift living in his bones - and that would be an idea, to shift, if Danta didn't think the trap wouldn't just sever his little avian leg if he did - the Ancient can't find it in himself to be mad at the creature hovering just out of arm's reach overhead. He'd probably do it too, honestly. "You're very pretty," he informs Belial, "but if you get too close I'll absolutely bite you."

Which is the point where another presence (two, to be exact) makes itself known. Unlike with the peryton, Danta does have the decency to look on edge at the sight of a stranger while he's literally stuck in the mud, though it's hard to be sus when there's so much stranger to take in. Raising his eyebrows and slanting a smile in Deimos's direction, he flutters a hand to his chest.

"Why, I was just thinking that I might," he drawls. "How fortuitous that you have come along. I seem to be bleeding to death, if you wouldn't mind lending a hand."

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones.

---

You've encountered the OG random event! This allows you to skip one levelling requirement with the character in this thread. (Unfortunately does not count for characters over level 10, how sad.)

Deimos

The peryton took the compliment with utter glee, but one glare from the Sword was enough to send him scattering back over the glotters – either to watch or to irritate, whichever delighted him in the impulsive moment.

Thereafter, Deimos gave his attention to the stranger, arching a singular brow at the dramatics (and some singular memory of Thranduil’s drawl and level of theater making him wonder if this was going to be something dreadful), but stepping down along the shoreline. Zuriel followed suit, closely behind, regal and unimpressed.

Crouching beside the trap, and casting a careful inspection, his rumble persisted once more. “Usually a lever on these,” or some sort of contraption to release whatever was snagged within – though they were often dispatched and dead. Without touching the unfamiliar Ancient, his fingers pressed a point below embedded flesh, and watched as the hinges began to unfurl from the other’s leg.

what does it mean to look upon a ruin
we are boneless. we are boiling hot blood.

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

The peryton gets it, but Danta can't say too much for the stranger, though he's fine to look at and so the Ancient will forgive him for broodily silenting his way over. In fairly sunny spirits to say he's sitting on the riverbank with his leg clamped, at first he's more irritated about the mud than the injury. Bare chested and damp with his ruddy leather coat from Torchline caked in dirt, he's all for playing damsel, but not like this.

"Handled a lot of these in your time, have you?" he wonders with a bob of his eyebrows, by which time Deimos is doing the thing. And for all of Danta's pomp and flamboyance, he's got nerve endings and he can, in fact, feel pain. So as the trap opens its jaws and parts from his flesh, the Ancient hisses in a sharp breath and bites down on a few very colourful phrases indeed.

Shifting his leg with the help of both hands, it's doing that unfortunate thing of pissing blood everywhere now that the trap isn't there to stop most of the flow, and Danta is forced to use his hands to press against the punctures. "Much obliged," he says with a quick, fanged smile in the other man's direction.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

The Sword shrugged his shoulders, giving no further indication of traps or his preferences towards snagging prey; brows furrowing slightly as the gush of blood reeled through. Maneuvering back and out of range, returning to his full height, for he was no mender, he gave Zuriel a silent gesture, a jutting of his jawline towards the obvious wounds. “My unicorn can heal you,” by way of offering, unless the man wanted to be left hemorrhaging along the shoreline, and eventually picked off by something else. Caido always found a way.

The mare stepped forward, her expression a melding and weaving of regal snobbery, head bending down so her horn could unfurl the incantations and magic stored within – intending to seal over punctures and lacerations, fortifying skin, flesh, and sinew.

what does it mean to look upon a ruin
we are boneless. we are boiling hot blood.

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

The stranger steps away and Danta figures that's that for his dashing rescue; now it's back to regularly scheduled fuckery and bleeding to death on the shore of a river he isn't even that sure he likes. But oh, there's a unicorn, and you know, he's not ever seen one up close before. Call it the bloodloss, but he's never seen a prettier horse. "Is the murder deer yours as well?" he wonders, letting bloody hands fall away so the unicorn can get to work.

The relief is immediate, though Danta feeling better can be taken as both good and bad depending on Deimos's proclivities (the reader can guess which, I bet). "You're a doll," he croons to Zuriel, getting himself out of the mud before it can do more damage to his ego or his outfit. Straightening up to his own full height still brings him a few inches short of the other man - attractive - and he offers him a fanged smile for his trouble.

"I'm in your debt," he says. "Anything I can take care of for you?"

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

While Zuriel worked, Deimos shifted his head to watch as Belial taunted the glotters again, another sigh filling his lungs, before filtering back out. “Yes,” slightly pained, as if admitting the notions sometimes hurt. The peryton snapped at a few of the chattering creatures overhead, and he was half-inclined in ruining the companion’s day by beckoning a few snaps of his Air magic, and then tucking the deer under his arm like a toddler. For now, he allowed him a few more moments of play, if only because his attention deviated back to the situation at hand.

Piercing eyes flickered over patched-over wounds, granting a nod when the healing was completed. Zuriel snorted at the croon, but accepted it otherwise, while the Sword retrieved a treat from his pocket for the unicorn. Unbothered by the sway of the other individual, because he had no reason to be suspicious presently, he turned to adjust the mare’s saddlebags as the unicorn daintily chomped down on her reward. “No.” In another time, like prior to war, he might’ve pressed for vital information, for schemes and plots. Nowadays, with nothing threatening over the horizon, he was content to leave moments as they were. Altering direction, with every intention of departing further down the shoreline, he pointed out several other traps that seemed to mar the way. “Just watch your step.”

what does it mean to look upon a ruin
we are boneless. we are boiling hot blood.

Dantalion

how the fuck am I supposed to know

"A hero and a man of few words," Danta observes, all the while taking a handkerchief from the inside pocket of his coat to wipe at his face. "And here I thought the war wiped all of you out." Is it a joke? Even the Ancient isn't sure, busy rolling his shoulders and shivering a bit, as if realising just how cold it had been sitting down in the mud next to the Symphony.

"I can't even offer you a drink to show my appreciation?" He raises his eyebrows, heading back to the path and very nearly falling victim to a second bear trap. But he doesn't, and it's all thanks to his hero the other man's warning. "I'm Danta, by the way," he calls to Deimos's departing back.

if we're in love or if we're in pain?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Deimos

Uncertain what to make of the remark, he snorted. In another time and place, there might’ve been some self-deprecating notions to go along with the statement, but he chose to ignore them. Growth and all that. Arching a brow, and turning his head over his shoulder, only to witness the man nearly fall into a second trap, he blinked, allowing one more slow breath to unfurl. “I am Deimos,” solidifying the meager introductions with a swift nod. He’d remember the other’s name too, assembling it in a hoard of others.

But for now, he collected his companions (trusted Zuriel, and had to beckon Belial over with a stern warning), and headed back the way they’d come, intending to return home with their wares and a new, bizarre tale.

{FIN}

what does it mean to look upon a ruin
we are boneless. we are boiling hot blood.